Definitions

U.S. Historical Perspective and Current Trends

Alaska

Alaska Chronology

California

California Chronology

California Death With Dignity Act

Florida

Florida Chronology

Hawaii

Hawaii Chronology

Maine

Maine Chronology

Michigan

Kevorkian Chronology

Michigan Chronology

Proposal B - Michigan's Ballot Initiative on Assisted Suicide

New Hampshire

New Hampshire Aid-in-Dying Act

New Hampshire Chronology

New York

New York Chronology

Oregon

1st Annual Report on Oregon's Death With Dignity Act (1998)

2nd Annual Report on Oregon's Death With Dignity Act (1999)

3rd Annual Report on Oregon's Death With Dignity Act (2000)

4th Annual Report on Oregon's Death With Dignity Act (2001)

5th Annual Report on Oregon's Death With Dignity Act (2002)

Background of PAS in Oregon

Eighth Annual Report on Assisted Suicide in Oregon.

Executive Summary of the 5th Annual Report on Oregon's Death With Dignity Act (2002)

How Do Oregon Psychologists View Their Role in Physician-Assisted Suicide?

Measure 16 - Oregon Death With Dignity Act

Oregon Chronology

Oregon Physicians Attitudes About and Experiences With End-of-Life Care Since Passage of the Oregon Death With Dignity Act

Oregon's Assisted Suicide Experience: Safeguards Don't Work

Physician-Assisted Suicide: Reflections on Oregon's First Case

Suicide in the West

The Oregon Report: Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Vermont

Vermont Chronology

Washington

Initiative 119 - Washington Death With Dignity Act

Washington Chronology

Kevorkian Chronology

• The Hemlock Society Quarterly publishes an article indicating that assisted suicide may be legal in Michigan. The article specifically mentions Jack Kevorkian.
  
  
• Kevorkian assists Janet Adkins, 54, of Oregon in suicide. Adkins died in Kevorkian's van by an intravenous infusion of drugs. Adkins was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
  
  
• Oakland County Circuit Judge Alice Gilbert issues a preliminary injunction barring Kevorkian from further use of his suicide machine.
  
  
• Kevorkian is charged with murder in the death of Janet Adkins.
  
  
• District Judge Gerald McNally dismisses murder charges against Kevorkian in the Adkins case.

• Judge Gilbert makes an injunction against Kevorkian preventing use of his suicide machine permanent.
  
  
• Kevorkian assists two non-terminally ill women in suicide: Marjorie Wantz, 58, and Sherry Miller, 43. The women died in a cabin at a state park. Wantz died from intravenous drugs; Miller died by inhaling carbon monoxide. Wantz was alleged to have pelvic pain; Miller had multiple sclerosis.
  
  
• Michigan State medical board votes unanimously to suspend Kevorkian's medical license.
  
  
• Oakland County Prosecutor Richard Thompson asks a grand jury to determine if there is a basis for charging Kevorkian in the case involving Wantz and Miller.

• An Oakland county grand jury indicts Kevorkian on two counts of open murder.
  
  
• District Judge James Sheehy binds Kevorkian for trial based on the grand jury indictment.
  
  
• Kevorkian assists 52-year-old Susan Williams in suicide at her Clawson, Michigan home. Williams died by inhaling carbon monoxide allegedly supplied by Kevorkian. Williams had multiple sclerosis.
  
  
• Oakland County Circuit Judge David Breck dismisses murder charges against Kevorkian in the Wantz/Miller case. Breck declares that there is no law against assisted suicide and that patients have a right to request such assistance.
  
  
• Kevorkian assists Lois Hawes, 52, of Warren in committing suicide. Hawes died by inhaling carbon monoxide allegedly supplied by Kevorkian. Hawes had lung cancer.
  
  
• Kevorkian assists Catherine Andreyev, 46, of Moon Township, Pennsylvania in committing suicide. Andreyev, who died by inhaling carbon monoxide, had cancer.
  
  
• Kevorkian assists in the suicides of Marguerite Tate, 70, and Marcella Lawrence, 67. Both women died in Tate's Auburn Hills home by inhaling carbon monoxide supplied by Kevorkian. Tate had Lou Gehrig's disease; Lawrence had arthritis, emphysema, and a heart condition. Hours after the suicides of Tate and Lawrence, Governor John Engler signs H.B. 4501 (Public Act 270 of 1992) prohibiting assisted suicide. The law will not take effect until March 30, 1993.

• Kevorkian assists in the suicide of 53-year old Jack Miller. Miller, of Huron Township, was diagnosed with bone cancer and died by inhaling carbon monoxide.
  
  
• Kevorkian assists in the deaths of Stanley Ball, 82, and Mary Biernat, 73. Both died in Ball's Leland, Michigan home by inhaling carbon monoxide. Ball had pancreatic cancer; Biernat, from Crown Point, Indiana, had breast cancer.
  
  
• Kevorkian assists in the suicide of Hugh Gale, 70, in Gale's Roseville, Michigan home. Gale had emphysema and heart disease. He died by inhaling carbon monoxide.
  
  
• Kevorkian assists in the suicide of two Californians, Jonathon Grenz, 44 of Costa Mesa, and Martha Ruwart, 41 of CardiffbytheSea. Both had cancer and died by inhaling carbon monoxide in the home of Kevorkian assistant Neal Nicols.
  
  
• Oakland and Macomb county prosecutors executed search warrants on the homes of Jack Kevorkian and Hugh Gale. Evidence presented to the prosecutors indicated that Mr. Gale might have expressed a desire for his suicide attempt to be stopped.
  
  
• Kevorkian assisted in the suicide of Ronald Mansur, 54, of Southfield, Michigan. He was diagnosed with bone and lung cancer. He died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
  
  
• Kevorkian assisted in the suicide of Thomas Hyde, 30, of Novi. He had Lou Gehrig's disease. The death occurred on Belle Isle in Kevorkian's van by means of carbon monoxide poisoning.
  
  
• Kevorkian was charged with assisting the suicide of Thomas Hyde. He was released on $100,000 bond, and scheduled for a preliminary hearing.
  
• Judge Lipscomb ordered Kevorkian to stand trial for assisting in the suicide of Thomas Hyde. Kevorkian remained free on bond. Hours after Kevorkian was bound over for trial he assisted in another suicide ­ Donald O'Keefe, 73, of Redford Township, a bone cancer patient in the early stages of the disease. He died by inhaling carbon monoxide.
  
  
• Judge Karen Khalil heard motions from Kevorkian's attorney, regarding the constitutionality of the state statute banning assisted suicide, which she took under advisement.
  
  
• Judge Khalil ordered Kevorkian to stand trial on a charge of assisted suicide. Kevorkian was freed on bond.
  
  
• Kevorkian assisted in the death of Merian Fredricks, 72, of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The suicide took place in Kevorkian's apartment. Ms. Fredricks had Lou Gehrig's disease and died by inhaling carbon monoxide.
  
  
• Kevorkian's attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, offered Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Richard Kaufman, a plea bargain. Kevorkian will plead no contest to two counts of assisted suicide if: 1) the Hyde and O'Keefe cases are heard by Judge Kaufman, 2) the judge makes a ruling as to the constitutionality of the assisted suicide law, and 3) if the law is found unconstitutional, the pleas will be moot; if not, they can withdraw the pleas. Judge Kaufman delayed ruling so he could have time to review the proposal.
  
  
• Judge Thomas Jackson raised Kevorkian's bond to $20,000. Refusing to post bail, Kevorkian was jailed and began a "hunger strike."
  
  
• Sterling Heights attorney John DeMoss posted 10 % of the $20,000 bail on Kevorkian's behalf. Kevorkian was then released.
  
  
• With both the prosecutor's office and Judge Kaufman rejecting the plea bargain offer of Kevorkian's attorney, Kaufman heard arguments regarding the constitutionality of the statute banning assisted suicide.
  
  
• Kevorkian assisted in the death of Dr. Ali Khalili, 61, of Oak Brook, Illinois. Dr. Khalili was diagnosed with bone cancer and died by carbon monoxide poisoning in Kevorkian's apartment in Royal Oak.
  
  
• Kevorkian surrendered to Royal Oak police after being charged with the October suicide of Merian Fredricks. Later in the day he was arraigned with bond set at $50,000 to be paid in full. Kevorkian refused to pay the bond and was taken to jail.
  
  
• Kevorkian followed through with his threat to go on a hunger strike, by refusing all food. He would only accept water, juice and vitamins.
  
  
• Judge Richard Kaufman ruled that there is a constitutional right to "rational" suicide; therefore the Michigan ban on assisted suicide was unconstitutional.
  
  
• Kevorkian was released from jail after Oakland County Judge Jessica Cooper reduced his bond to $100, which his supporters posted. He was placed under house arrest. He vowed to work within the system and not assist in any more suicides. Kevorkian announced plans to spearhead a petition drive to get the issue on the November 1994 ballot.

• Oakland County Prosecutor Richard Thompson charged Kevorkian with assisting in the death of Dr. Khalili.
  
  
• Kevorkian was arraigned on the Oakland County charge and $100 bond was set. It was paid by his supporters and he was released.
  
  
• Kevorkian was released from house arrest after Judge Jessica Cooper declared the assisted suicide law void. She said the legislature's passage of the law violated a technical constitutional rule governing enactment of laws.
  
  
• Jack Kevorkian addressed worshipers in St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, Livonia, to kick off his petition drive to amend the state constitution to allow assisted suicide. More than 257,000 signatures were needed to place the amendment on the November 1994 ballot.
  
  
• Kevorkian was ordered to stand trial in the Thomas Hyde case. Detroit Recorders Court Judge Thomas Jackson said he was not bound by the circuit judge's ruling that declared the law unconstitutional.
  
  
• During the Wayne County trial Kevorkian attorney, Geoffrey Fieger contended that Thomas Hyde's death did not take place in Wayne County, but in Oakland County. He also appealed to the sympathy of the jurors, by trying to prove Kevorkian was relieving pain and not intending to kill Thomas Hyde.
  
  
• Jurors acquitted Kevorkian of any wrongdoing in the Hyde case. They concluded his intent in using carbon monoxide gas was to relieve pain, not to kill.
  
  
• The Michigan Court of Appeals, by a 2 to 1 vote, struck down the state's assisted suicide law on technical grounds. The court ruled that Kevorkian cannot be tried under the assisted suicide law, but he can be tried under common law for murder. The court ruled that there is no active law against committing suicide, while also ruling that there is no constitutional right to having assistance in committing suicide.
  
  
• The Michigan Supreme Court agreed to hear appeals brought by all parties involved in the Michigan Court of Appeals decision.
  
  
• Jack Kevorkian announced that the petition drive to place a constitutional amendment regarding euthanasia on the ballot failed to obtain enough signatures.
  
  
• Kevorkian claimed to attend the 21st suicide since 1990. Margaret Garish, 70, of Royal Oak, died by carbon monoxide poisoning. Ms. Garish had severe rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. In this case, Kevorkian was not present when authorities arrived, nor was the mechanism or device by which she allegedly committed suicide present.
  
  
• The Michigan Supreme Court ruled that assisting in a suicide is a common law felony, and that there is not a protected right to suicide assistance under the constitution. The Michigan Legislature failed in an all-night session to pass a new ban on assisted suicide.

• Kevorkian's attorney Geoffrey Fieger announced he would file a petition in federal court to block pending prosecutions in Oakland County under the common law.
  
  
• Kevorkian attended his 22nd assisted suicide. Rev. John Evans, 78, of Royal Oak, Michigan, died of carbon monoxide poisoning. He was diagnosed with a lung disease.
  
  
• Kevorkian attended his 23rd suicide. Nicholas John Loving, 27, of Phoenix, Arizona, died of carbon monoxide poisoning. He had Lou Gehrig's disease. Loving was found in the back of Kevorkian's van parked in the lot of the sheriff's department in Oakland County.
  
  
• The Michigan Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's 1991 civil injunction permanently barring Kevorkian from assisting in suicides.
  
  
• Kevorkian opened his "Mercy Clinic"/"Obitorium". His first patient (24th assisted suicide) was Erika Garcellano of Kansas City, Missouri, 60 years old. She had Lou Gehrig's disease. Her cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning. Kevorkian rented an old hardware store building to house his "clinic".
  
  
• The owners of the building Kevorkian rented told him to vacate the premises, and gave him 30 days. They said they were misled as to the purpose of his use of the building. Kevorkian moved out immediately.
  
  
• Kevorkian assisted in the suicide of Esther Cohan, 46, of Skokie, Illinois. Cohan had multiple sclerosis and died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Cohan's body was left in the back seat of a car apparently owned by Kevorkian and parked in the physician's parking lot of an Oakland County hospital.
• Jack Kevorkian and six other physicians join to form the group "Physicians for Mercy."
  
  
• Kevorkian assisted in the suicide of Patricia Cashman, 58, of San Marcos, California. Her body was left in the same car as Esther Cohan's and parked outside the office of the Oakland County morgue. Cashman allegedly had breast cancer that had spread throughout her body. The autopsy revealed no cancer in any major organs and only microscopic traces elsewhere in her body. Evidence indicated that the intravenous "suicide machine" Kevorkian used in the past might have been used again in this case.
  
  
• Kevorkian's Physicians for Mercy group released its guidelines for "patholysis" ­ the procedure that patients would follow in order to receive lethal assistance from one of the "obitiatrists" in Physicians for Mercy. It was also announced that Kevorkian would receive a $20,000 award from the Sovereign Fund, a foundation established by California millionaire Kurt Simon dedicated to promoting individual freedom. Kevorkian indicated that he would use the funds to establish his next mercy clinic.

• Kevorkian assisted in the suicide of Linda Henslee. The 48-year old woman from Beloit, Wisconsin had multiple sclerosis and died from inhaling carbon monoxide. Her body was found in Kevorkian's van parked outside the Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office.
  
  
• The trial began for Jack Kevorkian for the 1993 deaths of Merian Fredricks and Dr. Ali Khalili.
  
  
• The jury in the Kevorkian trial found him not guilty of assisting in suicides. The jury used an exemption in the law for doctors using medications to relieve pain as its basis for acquittal. They claimed Kevorkian was only relieving suffering, not trying to cause death.
  
  
• The third assisted suicide trial of Jack Kevorkian began in the cases of Sharon Miller and Marjorie Wantz. Kevorkian showed up wearing Colonial-era clothing to show how medieval the charges were.
  
  
• Judge Breck allowed an angry Kevorkian to leave midway through the second day of the trial, but told him to return to testify. The jurors were not present, but were told that Kevorkian voluntarily excused himself from the trial.
  
  
• Near the close of his second trial, Kevorkian attended the suicide of Austin Bastable, 53, of Ontario, Canada. He had multiple sclerosis. The assisted suicide took place in the home of Janet Good, former president of Hemlock of Michigan. Four other physicians were present. Carbon monoxide was the cause of death.
  
  
• The jury acquitted Kevorkian of assisted suicide charges, after three days of deliberations. They believed his intent was to relieve the suffering, not to kill the person.
  
  
• Kevorkian was present at the death of Ruth Neuman, 69, from Columbus New Jersey. She died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Her son wheeled her into a Ponitac hospital. She was partially paralyzed from a stroke, three years prior, and had also battled uterine cancer. The Oakland County Medical Examiner said there was nothing in her body that indicated a terminal illness, although she was not a healthy woman.
  
  
• The body of Lona Jones, 58, of Chester, Virginia was wheeled into a hospital by her husband. Kevorkian's attorney said Kevorkian and other doctors attended the suicide, but would not say who or where it took place. She had been treated for brain cancer. She died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
  
  
• The body of Betty Lou Hamilton, 67, of Columbus, Ohio, was taken to a Pontiac hospital by her friend and Kevorkian lawyer Geoffrey Fieger. She had a disease called syringomyelia. She died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
  
  
• Kevorkian attended the death of Shirley Cline, 63, of Oceanside, California. She had bowel cancer, and died from an intravenous injection. She was the 32nd assisted suicide.
  
  
• The body of Rebecca Badger, 37, of California, was brought to a Pontiac hospital by Jack Kevorkian. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Cause of death was intravenous injection; she was the 33rd assisted suicide.
  
  
• Kevorkian's next victim was Elizabeth Mercz, 59, of Cincinnati, Ohio, who was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. She died from an intravenous injection, and was the 34th assisted suicide.
  
  
• Next was Judith Curren, 42, of Pembrook, Massachusetts. She was diagnosed with a combination of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome. There were allegations of spousal abuse and psychiatric problems. The Medical examiner found no physical disease, only obesity. She died from an intravenous injection and was the 35th assisted suicide.
  
  
• Louise Siebens, 76, of McKinney, Texas was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. The medical examiner said she died from an injection of deadly chemicals and became the 36th assisted suicide.
  
  
• Patricia Smith, 40, was from Lees Summitt, Missouri. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and died from an intravenous injection. She was the 37th assisted suicide.
  
  
• Pat DiGangi, 66, of East Northport, Long Island, New York was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and kidney cancer. He died from intravenous injection and became the 38th assisted suicide.
  
  
• Jack Leatherman, 73, of Knoxville, Tennessee was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few months earlier. He died from an intravenous injection and became the 39th assisted suicide.
  
  
• Kevorkian attended the death of Isabel Correa, 60, of Fresno, California. She had a spinal disorder. The previous day police interrupted a meeting between Kevorkian and Correa in a motel room, confiscating the "suicide machine" and videotapes.
  
  
• Oakland County Prosecutor Richard Thompson, filed pleadings listing charges Kevorkian could face as a result of a raid on Isabel Correa's motel room about three weeks earlier.
  
  
• Kevorkian attends the 41st assisted suicide: Dr. Richard Faw, 71, of Wilson, North Carolina. He was diagnosed with colon cancer.
  
  
• Kevorkian attended the 42nd assisted suicide: Wallace Spolar, 70, of El Paso, Texas. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
  
  
• The U.S. Supreme Court let stand without comment a 1991 Michigan court order that barred Kevorkian from helping people commit suicide.
  
  
• Kevorkian dropped off the body of Nancy Desoto, 55, of Bourbonnais, Illinois at a local hospital. She had Lou Gehrig's disease and was the 43rd assisted suicide.
  
  
• Kevorkian dropped off the body of Barbara Collins of Falmouth, Massachusetts. This was his 44th assisted suicide. She was 65 and had ovarian cancer. The cause of death was lethal injection.
  
  
• Oakland County Prosecutor Richard Thompson accused Jack Kevorkian of violating a 1991 injunction barring him from assisting in suicides. He was charged with 19 counts stemming from 10 deaths between June 20 and September 7, 1996. Neal Nicol and Dr. Redding were also charged with conspiring to assist and removing a body without the medical examiner's permission.
  
  
• Kevorkian's attorneys confirmed that he did attend the suicide of Loretta Peabody of Ionia County. The death occurred in her home a couple of months earlier. The death certificate, signed by her physician Dr. Poff four days after her death, said she died of natural causes. Her body had been cremated, so there was no autopsy. The Peabody suicide came to light after authorities viewed the videotape confiscated in the hotel raid in Oakland County. This brought Kevorkian's total to 45 deaths.
  
  
• Kevorkian was arraigned in Ionia County, for the assisted suicide of Loretta Peabody. The indictment handed down by the Ionia County grand jury charged him with assisting a suicide, conspiring to assist a suicide, and practicing medicine without a license.

• Oakland County Prosecutor Gorcyca dropped charges against Jack Kevorkian in the assisted suicide deaths of 10 people whom he assisted. Prosecutor Gorcyca said that putting Kevorkian on trial would be a waste of time and money.
  
  
• Shortly after midnight, the body of Lisa Lansing, 42, of Florham, New Jersey was brought to a Pontiac hospital by a friend. Two hours later the body of Elaine Day, 79, of Santa Clarita, California was found in the back of Kevorkian's van parked outside the medical examiners office. Both women died by lethal injections. Lansing had severe abdominal pain. Day is believed to have had Lou Gehrig's disease. Neither patient was terminal.
  
  
• The body of Helen Livengood, 59, of Richmond Virginia, was found in a Romulus, Michigan hotel room. There was a note by the bed that said to call Geoffrey Fieger, her attorney. Fieger rejected all requests to talk to Kevorkian or her family. She had chronic arthritis.
  
  
• The body of Albert Buddy Miley, 43, of Warminster Pennsylvania, was found dead in a Livonia, Michigan motel. There was a note in the room telling authorities to contact his attorney, Geoffrey Fieger. Mr. Miley was a quadriplegic.
  
  
• The body of Janette Knowles, 75, of Norfolk, Nebraska, was found at a motel in Warren, Michigan. A security guard checked the room after receiving an anonymous phone call. A note left in the room gave instructions to call her attorney, Geoffrey Fieger. She had Lou Gehrig's disease.
  
  
• Jack Kevorkian was issued a "cease and desist' order to stop holding himself out as a physician from the Michigan Department of Consumer and Industry Services. The department, which regulates physicians, said he had 30 days in which to challenge the order. Kevorkian's response was to light the order with a cigarette lighter in front of news cameras. The order only applied to future assisted suicides.
  
  
• The body of Heidi Aseltine, 27, of Indianapolis, Indiana, was found in a motel room in Romulus, Michigan. She had AIDS. A note instructed police to contact her lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger. Ms. Aseltine was a former resident of Holt, Michigan.
  
  
• The body of Delouise Bacher, 63, of Arvada, Colorado was found in a motel room in Michigan. A note to contact her lawyer Geoffrey Fieger was found. She had multiple sclerosis.
  
  
• A trial of Jack Kevorkian was conducted in Ionia, Michigan. Geoffrey Fieger, during his opening statements, accused Prosecutor Ray Voet of a "witch hunt" and attempted to make the jury doubt the legitimacy of the ban on assisted suicide. Fieger also claimed that the prosecutor and his assistant, Mike Modelski, conspired to alter evidence.
  
  
• Ionia Prosecutor Ray Voet asked Judge Miel to declare a mistrial based on the fact the jury was now tainted because of the things said in Fieger's opening statement. Later in the day Judge Charles Miel declared a mistrial.
  
  
• The body of Janis Murphy, 40, of Henderson, Nevada was found in a Southfield, Michigan motel. A note was found telling authorities to contact her lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger.
  
  
• The bodies of two women were found in Wayne and Macomb County motel rooms. Dorinda Scheipsmeier, 51, of Oceanside, California, and Lynne Lennox, 54, of Lakewood, New Jersey, both had multiple sclerosis. Notes were found directing police to contact Geoffrey Fieger, their attorney.
  
  
• Jack Kevorkian acknowledged assisting in the death of Karen Shoffstall, 34, of Long Beach, New York. She had recently been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Her body was found in Farmington Hills, Michigan. She died from an injection.
  
  
• Kevorkian colleague, Janet Good, 73, Farmington Hills, died from an assisted suicide. It is not known for sure whether Jack Kevorkian assisted in her death. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, two years previously. She died from an injection of poison.
  
  
• The body of Thomas Summerlee, 55, was found in a Farmington Hills, Michigan motel room. He was from Colorado. A note was found directing authorities to Geoffrey Fieger, his attorney. He had multiple sclerosis.
  
  
• The body of Carol Fox, 54, of Pennsylvania, was found in a Bloomfield Township motel. Kevorkian had admitted assisting in her suicide. She had ovarian cancer and died from an injection of a poison.
  
  
• The body of Deborah Sickels, 43, of Arlington, Texas was found in a Romulus motel room. She had multiple sclerosis. Her family members said she was emotionally unstable. Kevorkian admitted assisting in her suicide.
  
  
• The body of Natverlal Thakore, 78, of British Columbia was found in a Bloomfield Township, Michigan motel. A letter written by Mr. Thakore was faxed to a local radio station by attorney Geoffrey Fieger. Mr. Thakore had Parkinson's disease.
  
  
• Kari Miller's body was found in a Detroit area motel. She was from Colorado, 54 years old and diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. A note was faxed to an area radio station from Fieger's office alerting them that the body was in the motel.
  
  
• The body of John Zdanowicz, 50, of Berwyn, Illinois was found in a Livonia motel. A note was found indicating that he was a patient of Jack Kevorkian and to contact his lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger. Mr. Zdanowicz was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease.
  
  
• Lois Caswell's body was found in a Detroit area motel. She was 65, from Kentucky, and had chronic pain syndrome. She died from an intravenous injection.
  
  
• Kevorkian assisted in the death of Annette Blackman, 34, from Presque Isle, Michigan. She had multiple sclerosis.
  
  
• Jack Kevorkian announced that he will begin harvesting organs and doing lethal experiments on the bodies of his assisted suicide clients.
  
  
• The body of John J. O'Hara, 54, of New York City was found in a Detroit area motel. He was a stroke victim, but not terminally ill. A note was found indicating he was a patient of Kevorkian.
  
  
• The body of Nadia Foldes, 74, of Vermont was dropped off at a Detroit hospital by Jack Kevorkian. She had pancreatic cancer. Geoffrey Fieger alleged that the assisted suicide was held in an area Roman Catholic Church.
  
  
• Kevorkian dropped off the body of Naomi Sachs, 84, of New York. She had osteoporosis. Later in the evening, police found the body of Bernice Gross, 78, of West Palm Beach, Florida in a Detroit area hotel room. A note was found to contact Kevorkian's attorney. She had multiple sclerosis.
  
  
• The body of Martha Wichorek, 82, of Detroit, was found in her home. The suicide was assisted by Dr. Georges Reding, Kevorkian's assistant. She suffered from no apparent illness. She left a statement saying, " I am 82 years old and want to die".
  
  
• The body of Rosalind Haas, 59, of Westminister, California, was found in a Romulus, Michigan hotel room. She had breast cancer and died from a lethal injection.
  
  
• The body of Margaret Weilhart of Oceanside, California was found in an Allen Park, Michigan hotel room. She was a stroke victim, partially paralyzed. Also the body of Cheri Trimble, 46, of Iowa City, Iowa, was dropped off at a Pontiac hospital.
  
  
• Franz-Johann Long, 53, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania died in the presence of Jack Kevorkian. His family said he had been mentally ill for many years. Also the body of Mary Langford, 73, Tampa, Florida was dropped off at an Oakland County hospital by Kevorkian and Reding.

• The body of Nancy Rush, 81, of Saline, Michigan was taken to an Oakland County hospital by Kevorkian and Dr. Reding. She had lung cancer.
  
  
• The body of Carrie Hunter, 35, of San Francisco, California was found in a Pontiac Hotel. A note was found from Kevorkian. She had AIDS and was a trans-sexual. She died from a lethal injection.
  
  
• The body of Jeremy Allen, 52, of Cambridge, Massachusetts was taken to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital by Kevorkian. He had cancer.
  
  
• The body of Murial Clement, 76, of North Branford, Connecticut was taken to Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan by Kevorkian. She had Parkinson's disease.
  
  
• The body of Roosevelt Dawson, 21, of Southfield, Michigan was found in an apartment in Southfield. He was a paraplegic and had been released from a Grand Rapids nursing home, which had tried to get a court order to hold him involuntarily, but was unsuccessful. Kevorkian only had a few minutes of conversation with Mr. Dawson before he assisted in his suicide.
  
  
• Jack Kevorkian dropped off two bodies within two hours of each other. The first was that of William Connaughton, 42, of Boston, Massachusetts. He had fibromyalgia. The second body was that of Patricia Greyham, 61, of Roanoke, Virginia. She had rheumatoid arthritis. Both died from a lethal injection.
  
  
• Waldo Herman, 66, of Detroit died in his home with the help of Jack Kevorkian. Mr. Herman had lung cancer.
  
  
• Jack Kevorkian delivered the body of Mary Judith Kranner, 67, of Southfield, Michigan to an area hospital. She had Huntington's disease.
• A burial was finally held for Jeremy Allen, one of Kevorkian's victims, whose body remained unclaimed for nearly two months. A group from Massachusetts claimed the body and held a funeral.
  
  
• The body of Shala Semino, 46, of Phoenix, Arizona was taken to a Huron Valley Hospital by Jack Kevorkian. The hospital refused to accept the body due to a new policy. The police picked up the body. She had Lou Gehrig's disease and died from a lethal injection.
  
  
• The body of Dixie Wilson, 64, Missouri, was delivered to an area Pontiac hospital by Jack Kevorkian. A note indicated she had Lou Gehrig's disease and all inquires were to be directed to Geoffrey Fieger. She died from a lethal injection.
  
  
• The bodies of Priscilla Hiles, 73, of Oceanside, California and Jack Schenburn, 89, of Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan were taken to separate Oakland County hospitals by Jack Kevorkian. Hiles had several non-terminal diseases. Schenburn had prostrate cancer. Both died from lethal injections.
  
  
• The body of Lucille Alderman, 86, of Rochester Hills, Michigan was taken to a Rochester Hills hospital. She was the first to die from cyanide poisoning. She had a heart condition and a degenerative joint condition.
  
  
• Jack Kevorkian and Dr. Reding were arrested while they delivered the body of Matthew Johnson, 26, of Aptos, California to a Royal Oak hospital. Mr. Johnson was a quadriplegic. A scuffle ensued with Royal Oak police officers, who just happened to be at the hospital, when they began questioning Kevorkian about the dead body in his car. Kevorkian and Reding spent the night in jail upon refusing to post $200 bond. They entered "not guilty" pleas for resisting arrest and assaulting an officer.
  
  
• Emma Kassa, 68, of Xenio, Ohio died with Jack Kevorkian's assistance. She had lung cancer.
  
  
• Joseph Tushkowski, 45, of Las Vegas, Nevada, died with Jack Kevorkian's assistance. Kevorkian began a new phase in his assisted suicide crusade by harvesting the kidneys from the body. The medical examiner said the body had been mutilated, the kidneys were not accepted for donation. Mr. Tushkowski was a quadriplegic.
  
  
• Royal Oak City attorneys charged that Kevorkian violated a state law against mutilating a corpse, and asked a judge to revoke his bond or revise its conditions to prohibit organ harvesting.
  
  
• The Judge modified Kevorkian's conditions, so that if he assisted in a suicide he could be jailed.
  
  
• The Michigan Department of Consumer & Industry Services served Kevorkian with a subpoena demanding his records on 42 patients he "treated" since their Cease and Desist Order from April 1997. He refused to turn over the records.
  
  
• A jury convicted Jack Kevorkian of two misdemeanor charges, interfering with police and resisting arrest. He was sentenced to pay a $700 fine and $200 in court costs. Kevorkian was under bond orders not to assist in any suicides or to break any other laws.
  
  
• CBS's 60 minutes aired a tape in which Jack Kevorkian was shown injecting Tom Youk, 52, of Watertown Township, Michigan with several substances aimed at killing him. Mr. Youk had ALS. Kevorkian's plan was to push his agenda to allow for active assistance in killing those people who request it. After the airing Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca subpoenaed the tape from CBS.
  
  
• Kevorkian was charged with three felony counts: first-degree murder, assisting a suicide and delivering a controlled substance without a medical license in the TV death of Thomas Youk. He remained free on a $750,000 personal bond. A pretrial hearing was set.
  
  
• District Judge Phyllis McMillen ordered Kevorkian to stand trial on the three charges against him.
  
  
• Oakland County Circuit Judge Jessica Cooper set the date for Kevorkian's murder trial to be March 1, 1999.

• The jury for Kevorkian's murder trial unanimously found him guilty of second-degree murder of Thomas Youk and delivery of a controlled substance.
  
  
• On April 13, 1999, Kevorkian was sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison for the death of Thomas Youk and 3 to 7 years for delivery of a controlled substance.
  
  
• Kevorkian's motion for a new trial was rejected.

• Judge Jessica Cooper denied Kevorkian's third request for release from prison. He sought release on bond pending his appeal on the grounds that he has high blood pressure and prison threatened his health. His attorneys said they would appeal the decision. Jack Kevorkian remains in prison.

• A study finds that 75% of Kevorkian's patients were not "terminally ill". A letter to the New England Journal of Medicine reported on an analysis of 69 patients who were assisted by Jack Kevorkian. Only 17 of them were found to be terminally ill. The remaining 52 had a recent decline in health status, but were not terminally ill. Almost 75% of them were women, most of whom were divorced or never married. In five of the cases, autopsies were unable to confirm any disease at all.

• Kevorkian?s attorney argued before a court that Kevorkian should be resentenced to recognize time served and be released from prison. The motion was denied.

Posted on February 21, 2005.